"Lifeless Utopia"
By Scott McKenzie
Genetic transfer, finger to finger,
This hand a replica of that hand.
Start by one, end by imagination,
Create a perfect world -- strip uniquity.
Straight-lined mouth pursed in silence.
Dull blue eyes with a lifeless gaze.
Uniformity gives birth to utopia,
Monopoly of the 'us' -- erase the "them".
Perfect people in a perfect world.
I'm pretty sure the general situation described here doesn't appeal to most people. For me, it really hints more at a dystopia, somewhat similar to the one proposed in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Also, the catalyst for me writing this poem was reading about cloned bananas, which is sort of hinted at by the first two lines but very quickly went off track. (Banana trivia: a bunch of banana fruits, or a tier, is called a hand while a single fruit is called a finger.)
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"Are You Being Honest Abe?"
By Jim Jarvis
While working at the middle school
I did not have students pass papers forward.
I walked up and down the rows and collected papers.
I said "Thank you" to each student as I collected the paper.
One day a colleague asked, "Do you really mean it when you say
thank you?"
What a strange question.
A kindgergarten student looked at the teacher
and said, "Boy you sure smile hard."
Was the teacher's smile sincere?
It has been told that one time Abraham Lincoln said
Something to the effect -- I dont' like him. I need to get to
know him.
Did he really believe that if you got to know people you would find
That all people have something likeable about them?
The next time you are at the grocery store
And there is a kid screaming, "I want candy! I want candy!
I want candy!"
Will you say to yourself,
"If I could get to know that child . . . "
I like to think there is goodness in everyone. Even though sometimes it can be a challenge, it seems like a goal worth reaching for. Then I wonder if I am that challenge for others.
